LAW STUDENTS GAIN VALUABLE EXPERIENCE, CONTRIBUTE TO FHJC’S MISSION
With a little sorrow and a lot of pride, the Fair Housing Justice Center (FHJC) is bidding farewell to Bianca Li and Margaret Hassel, our fabulous summer law student interns.
Over the course of ten weeks, Bianca and Margaret worked closely with each other and with FHJC Legal Coordinator, Madhulika Murali. They completed projects that will further fair housing for years to come, researching various legal issues and authoring legal memos on a range of topics – for example, regarding fair housing rights and protections for undocumented renters and renters who speak a language other than English as their primary language. These memos will help FHJC cooperating attorneys better represent and advocate for New York’s immigrant communities. They also engaged in compliance monitoring of open settlements, attended court and mediation conferences, and handled a significant portion of the FHJC’s intake and counselling work. More recently, with their developed knowledge on fair housing issues, they identified their own specific areas of interest and authored research papers on, respectively, fair housing protections for sex workers, and fair housing and zoning issues.
“Bianca and Margaret were thoughtful, astute, and truly impressive in their ability to research and analyze complex legal issues,” said Madhulika. “They also provided effective and compassionate assistance to complainants who experienced housing discrimination. They were incredibly valuable members of the FHJC’s team this summer and their contributions will be greatly missed.”
While Bianca and Margaret’s stipends were covered this year by their respective law schools, this isn’t always possible. In the future, the FHJC’s new Robert A. Martin Legal Fellowship Fund, named in memory of former FHJC board president and founding board member Bob Martin, will enable the FHJC to fully compensate its interns, extending the opportunity to interested students from all law schools and all backgrounds.
Both Bianca and Margaret look forward to their returns to law school and to long, fruitful careers in public interest law. We wish them the best of luck, and are confident they will find much success.
Anyone wishing to donate to the Robert A. Martin Legal Fellowship Fund can contribute HERE. Checks can also be made out to the Fair Housing Justice Center, 30-30 Northern Blvd., Suite 302, Long Island City, New York, 11101.
The mission of the FHJC, a nonprofit civil rights organization, is to eliminate housing discrimination; promote policies and programs that foster open, accessible, and inclusive communities; and strengthen enforcement of fair housing laws in the New York City region.